Day 4 - Bubbling Mud, Jet Engines & Rotten Egg

We stopped for coffee and muffins in town before leaving Akureyki. We drove across a beautiful bridge crossing the fjord to leave this town. The landing path to the airport runway goes right across this bridge - would have liked to see a plane land here as we were crossing but it was not to be.

We continued westerly toward Myvatn.

Godafoss was an unexpected sight right at the ride of the main Hiway 1. A few hundred meteres off the road and to a parking lot. The huge waterfall fully visable from the road - and nothing to protect a stupid tourist from killing themself right there.



We contined west around the north edge of Myvatn lake toward the hot springs and bubbling mud. The area surrounding Myvatn looks like a lunar landscape with hot air plumes, craters and colour saturated land - all surrounded with Eau Du Sulphur. We attempted to get to Dettifoss and the two other waterfalls near it, but were met with a road crew who closed the road RIGHT infront of us. The nice worker gave us the "throat cutting" signal indicating "don't even try this". We didn't. Back down the road we went.



We headed back towards Myvatn and to a geothermal plant hidden in dense fog and clouds atop a hill. We again felt like we were on another planet. It was loud. Like Jet Engine Loud. But we could not see where the noise was coming from due to the fog/clouds. Quite surreal in a heart-pounding kind of way.

We attempted a trail to some bubbling mud but the snow was not thick enough to prevent feet from sinking through and into freezing-cold glacial-run off. Only one of us suffered that uncomfortable fate. Sadly it was the driver. My foot sunk in but my Gore-tex boot saved me. I was cold, but not wet. So we skipped that hike and continued up to a crater lake, then back down to our first view of the much more easily accessible full-on bubbling mud and sulphur.



On the way back down the road, just before driving under a heat vent sculpted to go right over the road - the fog lifted just enough for us to see the steam vents making that "jet engine" sound. They were much closer than we thought. More heart pounding (at least from me).





At the base of the road we encountered tour busses and yet another surreal landscape at Myvatn. More super-colour-saturated ground with pools of bubbling mud and steam vents. Just there, off the side of the main road.

I spent a lot of time photographing here. I could have spent all day. I didn't even mind the rotten egg smell - you do get used to it after a while. Seriously.

We continued back towards Husuvik with a brief stop at the Myvatn Hot Springs. This one is about 1/10th the price of the Blue Lagoon and far less crowded - until another school group showed up. It must be field trip season.

We left shortly afterwards.



A bit of an adventure finding the Berg Hostel, but well worth it when we did. Snow capped hills in the background, the water to one side and old lava fields everywhere else. Surreal, again. The hostel was also brand new and we had it all to ourselves.

We arranged for Whale Watching in the morning with Gentle Giants. Used the coupon we obtained from the last hostel. No Deep Sea Fishing, we were told. Not yet.